15 Things NME Learnt This Week

Another week has gone, and we’ve learnt a shedload of nifty new things. Let’s begin with the folks from The Simpsons apologising to Judas Priest for describing them as a ‘death metal’ band, which raised the heckles of the rock band’s fans. Bart Simpson has since used the blackboard in the show’s opening credits to say he’s sorry.

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Do you think Mark Wahlberg would be any cop in a scrap? The actor promised to ‘beat the crap’ out of One Direction if he ever crossed paths with the boyband, and he seemed to especially have it in for Harry Styles. “If I see that little prick, he’s going to get it,” he said.

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The nominations for the NME Awards 2014 with Austin, Texas were revealed this week: Arctic Monkeys, Haim, Palma Violets and Queens Of The Stone Age are all up for multiple gongs, with other nominees including Foals, Savages and Drenge. Head to NME.com/awards/vote to have your say.

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According to Alex Turner, he finds it harder and harder to play old Arctic Monkeys songs live because it’s tough for him to feel the same way he did when he wrote ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ et al. Unsurprising, really: he’d surely have had much better luck with the ladies if he’d ditched his scruffy locks for a sharp quiff.

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Big Beatles news: there’ll be a mini-reunion of sorts at this year’s Grammy Awards when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr perform together at the event, which is held in LA this month. Metallica, Daft Punk and Taylor Swift will also be showcasing their wares at the bash.

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And now it’s the news that launched a thousand ‘starts fizzy then ends up flat’ jokes: Blur bassist Alex James is launching a new drink called Britpop. Tentative plans include "beverages enriched with added minerals"and "low alcohol beer" as well as "alcopops".

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Man down! Alt-J revealed this week that they’ve lost a member as guitarist and bass player Gwil Sainsbury headed off for pastures new. There’s no bad blood, though – a statement from the band read: “This is a purely personal decision and as our best friend we support him completely.”

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“Horsemeat in the burgers, people commit murders, everyone’s on bugle, we’re being watched by Google.” Is it Bob Dylan? No, it’s Kasabian of course: the band told NME this week that one of the tracks from their as-yet-untitled new album is inspired by the horsemeat scandal.

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From horsemeat to beef, as Kaiser Chiefs’ singer Ricky Wilson revealed that he and erstwhile drummer/songwriter Nick Hodgson had patched things up following the latter’s decision to quit the band. “Just got off the phone with Nick H,” wrote The Voice’s new judge on Twitter. “Haven’t spoken in a while and cleared the air a bit.”

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Honk your 'major return' klaxon, for NYC's finest The Strokes have revealed that they'll be playing live together again this year. The band, who last shared a stage together back in 2011, will headline the Governors Ball in New York this June along with Jack White and OutKast. Call us optimists, but could some live dates follow, too?

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Fancy yourself as a Lorde Disciple? Well, the 17-year-old singer-songwriter would rather you didn't: she revealed this week that she's not keen on her fans giving themselves a wacky, pun-centirc nickname a la Lady Gaga's 'Little Monsters', Katy Perry's 'Katycats' and so forth. Good on you, Lorde.

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After resisting the advances of Spotify, Deezer and Rdio for absolutely ages, Oasis' resolve has finally weakened: their whole back catalogue has now been made available on streaming services – meaning we can all finally listen to 'Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants' in our droves. Or maybe we'll stick to 'Definitely Maybe' instead.

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Behold, American football fans: this year's Super Bowl half-time show will be headlined by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Will Flea 'accidentally' forget his sock, and thus trump MIA's middle finger in the shock stakes? We hope not.

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Blur have pulled out of this year's Big Day Out festival, and they'll be replaced by none other than Beady Eye. According to drummer Chris Sharrock, though, there's no bad blood or one-upmanship about the line-up switch. "It was more like 'Oh wow. That's funny,'" he said. "The irony of it. It's no big deal though, really. That was all a hundred years ago, wasn't it?"

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And we've saved arguably the most exciting news of the week until the very end: legendary hip-hop duo OutKast are set to reform this year to celebrate their 20th anniversary, and they'll be embarking on a 40-date world festival tour. Expect great songs and outlandish outfits a-plenty.